Dispensing pump



Feb. 4, 1964 D. F. CORSETTE ElAL 3,120,323

DISPENSING PUMP Filed Aug. 15, 1961 INVENTORS M M12662 m YA/dfiiATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,129,328 DHSPENSKNG PUMP Douglas F.Corsette, Los Angeles, and William H.

Harnage, Huntington Park, Calif., assignors to The Drackett Company,Cincinnati, Uhio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Aug. 15, 1961, Ser. No.131,603 Claims. (Cl. 222321) This invention relates to improvements in adispensing device, more particularly a dispensing pump of the class inwhich the pump of the reciprocating finger pressed type is supported foroperation in the liquid container, by means of the container cap orclosure.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a novelassembly of the various pump parts with each other and with the cap suchas will (facilitate and expedite the eflicient assembly of these partsas well as to permit their easy disassembling, cleaning and subsequentreassembly, without the need for any tools or specialized knowledge.

It is a further important object to provide such an assembly which isparticularly adapted for use with a resiliently stretchable and flexiblecap adapted for interchangeable use with containers of various sizes andtypes in which the apertured upper end through which the pump barrel isdisposed and supported is restrained from such stretching as would tendto enlarge its aperture and disengage it from sealing operativeengagement with the pump structure.

it is a further more specific object to provide a novel assemblage andinterconnection between the parts, in which the resiliently stretchablecap is provided with an axially upstanding annular rim around itsaperture or opening, which rim is concentrically disposed around theannular coaxial extension of the pump barrel above its flange, and inwhich both said rim and extension are snugly fitted into and received inan annular downwardly opening groove of a collar which thus serves tomaintain these parts in their assembled relation and in additionfunctions as a guide bearing in snug wiping engagement with the plungerstem.

It is a still further object to provide in conjunction with the assemblyof parts above mentioned a dispensing head which is removably fittedonto the upper end of the plunger stem after the collar above mentionedhas been operatively positioned thereairound, all to the end that thevarious removably assembled parts may be readily disassembled forcleaning and reassembled by an unskilled person.

In order to facilitate the foregoing assembling and disassemblingoperations, it is further desirable to provide suitable means forretaining the usual ball check valves of the pump against displacementor loss and it is further desirable to provide suitable snap fasteningmeans between the collar and both the pump barrel extension and theaxially upstanding rim around the opening of the container cap.

The foregoing as well as other incidental objects and advantages whichwill appear hereinafter are obtainable by the preferred exemplificationof the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation partly in section of a reciprocating fluidpump structure and container cap assembled and interconnected inaccordance with the invention in readiness for application, to, and useto dispense the contents of, a liquid container or bottle.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary axial section through theinterconnected portion-s of the pump barrel.

FIGURE 3 is an axial section in the same plane as FIGURE 2 through thecollar per se.

FIGURE 4 is a bottom plan View of the collar.

Referring now in detail to the accompanying drawing, the numeral 10%therein designates in its entirety the cylindrical pump barrel whichdefines the pump chamber 11 in which is reciprocably disposed at plungercompris ing the piston 12 having a hollow tubular piston rod 14-projecting upwardly therefrom and through the open upper end of thebarrel for snug but removable recep tion of its free upper end in thedownwardly opening socket of a combined discharge head and actuatorbutton 15 having a discharge spout 16 which communicates through thehead 15, plunger rod 14 and piston 12 with the pump chamber 11. At itslower end the pinup chamber 11 communicates with a suction tube 17which, if desired, may be bent at 17' so that its lower end will projectradially in offset relation iirom the axis of the pump for reception inthe corner of the container with which the pump is employed.

In accordance with usual practice, both the pump barrel 10 and theplunger 12, 14 have their intercommunicating fluid passages controlledby check valves 18 and 20 respectively as shown in FIGURE 1 to preventbackflow of the fluid from the pump barrel into the container. In orderthat these ball valves 18 and 20 will not be inadvertently misplaced andlost during disassembly of the pump structure for cleaning, there may beprovided suitable resiliently yieldable retainers such as the lugs 19projecting radially inwardly from the barrel walls into the pump chamber11 over the valve 18 so that the valve may be forced downwardly pastthese lugs in initially assembling the device but normally will belimited by them to an operative degree of retraction movement of theball from its seat, or in other words the ball will be effectivelyconfined between its seat and these lugs.

The upper ball valve or check valve 20 similarly has associatedtherewith a plurality of radially inwardly projecting lugs 21 confiningit against escape and loss.

The bottle cap or closure 25, by means of which the pump is operativelypositioned and supported on the bottle neck or container spout, has acircular or annular end wall 26 defining a circular and coaxial opening27 around which is formed an axially upstanding annular rim 28.Depending from the end wall 26 is a skirt 30 which may be of usualconfiguration for snug reception of and retention on the bottle neck orcontainer spout. With the construction herein employed, it has beenfound possible and practical to form the cap 25 of a resilientlystretchable and flexible material such as rubber, polyethylene or otherplastics having these characteristics and in such event the cap, despiteits flexible and stretchable characteristics, will be retainedeffectively against separation from the associated structure which isreceived and supported through its opening 27.

It will be seen that in the assembled relation of the cap with the pumpbarrel, the end wall 26 of the cap receives through its opening 27 anupward extension 29 of the pump barrel defining the open upper end ofthe latter, and the end wall itself rests upon and in axial abutmentwith the radially projecting annular flange 30 around the pump barrel inspaced relation from its open end. As thus arranged, the coaxial barrelextension 29 projects above the flange 3d and is received coaxiallywithin the rim 28 of the cap with its radially outer Wall in snugengagement with the encircling inner wall of the rim 2%.

Both the rim 28 and the extension 29 are securely though removablyretained in their assembled relation with respect to each other as wellas against axial displacement of the cap from the flange 30 by means ofthe annular collar 34, illustrated in detail in FIGURES 3 and 4, whichoverlies and abuts axially against the cap to confine same between itand the flange 30 and is connected to the barrel 1% against axialdisplacement by means of snug reception in its annular downwardlyopening axial groove 35 of both the barrel extension 29 and theencircling marginal rim 28 of the cap. This same interconnection betweenthe collar and the elements 28 and 29 also serves to effectuallyinterconnect the cap and pump barrel in their operative relationships.

In addition to thus interconnecting the barrel and cap of the pump, thecollar 34 is provided with a central opening 36 which slidably receivesthe plunger rod or stem 14 and is in guiding and wiping engagementtherewith to assist both in maintaining the axial alignment of theplunger in the barrel 1t and also to prevent the loss of any appreciableamount of fluid between the collar and the plunger rod 14. At the sametime, the portion of the collar immediately surrounding the opening 36and overlying the plunger piston 12 may coact with said piston to limitthe upward travel of the plunger structure. Moreover, if desired, thecollar may be provided with one or more keyways 37 opening radially intoits central aperture 36 for sliding reception of keys 38 on the plungerrod, whereby to maintain the radial plunger spout 16 in a predeterminedposition of orientation with respect to the pump barrel and more particularly to maintain it in the same radial plane of the pump as the offsetlower end of the tube 17. By means of this particular orientation,tilting of the liquid container or bottle to discharge its contentsthrough the spout 16 will also serve to move the contents by gravityinto the lowermost corner of the bottle or container in which the end ofthe suction tube 17 will be disposed.

The snug interfit or holding relationship between the collar and theelements 28 and 29 may be merely a frictional one or one such as iscaused by press fitting the collar onto these elements, thoughpreferably a more positive holding action is obtained by means of a moreor less conventional snap fastening means formed in the outer wall ofthe groove 35 for coaction with the radially outwardly presented face ofthe cap rim 28. Such means is exemplified in the present embodiment bythe annular radially outwardly projecting rib 40 formed on the rim 28for reception in the conformingly disposed annular groove 40 formed inthe depending radially annular wall 42 of the coller which defines oneside of the groove 35. The resilient snap fastening means between thebarrel extension 29 and the radially inner depending annular wall 44 ofthe collar is defined in the present embodiment by a pair of relativelyaxially spaced parallel annular ribs 46 on the inner wall 44 arrangedfor reception between them of a rib or annular portion 47 of the barrelextension 29.

Also if desired the barrel extension 29 and the surrounding containercap rim 28 may be releasably interconnected against axial displacementby means of the annular rib and groove type snap connection 48, bestshown in FIGURE 2.

Although the various parts and interconnections above mentioned willgenerally serve amply for the purpose of releasably interconnecting thevarious parts in their properly assembled relations, it may be desirablein some cases to provide an additional or auxiliary annular axial barrelextension 50 which is disposed concentrically within and engages theinner depending Wall 44 of the collar to reinforce same against radialinward deflection.

In the assembly of the pump structure and cap in accordance with theinvention, it will be readily apparent that both the cap and theassembled plunger structure, except for the discharge head 15, may beapplied to the barrel in any desired order, the plunger being appliedmerely by inserting its piston 12 downwardly through the open upper endof the barrel after first inserting in the barrel such auxiliary partsas the usual plunger compression spring (not shown) as well as theplunger ball valve 18.

With the parts as thus far assembled, the collar 34 til is applieddownwardly concentrically about the plunger rod 14, which will bedisposed through its opening 36 with the plunger keys 53 disposed in thekeyways 37 of the collar. The collar 34 will then be moved axiallydownwardly onto the rim and plunger barrel extension 23 and 29respectively. Following this the ball valve 2%, if not already in place,may be inserted into the upper end of the plunger rod 14 and onto itsseat past the resiliently yieldable retainer lugs 21. The downwardlyopening socket Within the dispensing or discharge head 51 for snugreception of the plunger rod (14) may, if desired, be formed with a snapconnection or connecting means such as heretofore described and asexemplified by the annular radially inwardly projecting rib 51 in thedischarge head socket for reception in a conformingly shaped anddisposed annular groove around the upper end of the plunger rod 14.

Though the cap 25 as well as its upstanding annular rib 28 are both offlexible and stretchable material, the barrel extension 29 will normallybe comparatively more rigid and thus will serve as a rigid support orbacking tending to resist radial inward deflection of the rib 28. Thedepending inner wall 44 of the collar may serve a similar addedreinforcing function in conjunction with the extension 29. Of somewhatmore importance, however, is the fact that these members 29 and 44jointly provide a substantially rigid backing against which the flexiblerim 28 is gripped and held by the depending outer wall 42 of the collar34. At the same time the collar itself is of a comparatively more rigidconstruction than the rim 28 and thereby serves to confine the rim andthe underlying portions of the cap ends 26 from radial expansion such asmight otherwise serve to disconnect the cap from the collar incident tothe application of the cap to a bottle neck of comparatively largeexternal diameter.

In this application the foregoing description and the accompanyingdrawing are merely by way of exemplification and are not intended tolimit the scope of the invention in any manner other than isspecifically required by the appended claims.

The invention having been thus described, what is claimed as new is:

1. A dispensing pump for a container comprising: a container cap havingan end wall formed with a circular opening therethrough and having anaxially upstanding annular rim around said opening; a hollow pump barreldefining a pump chamber open at its upper end and having a radial flangetherearound adjacent said end; an annular coaxial extension of saidbarrel projecting above said flange and being received coaxially withinsaid rim; a plunger comprising a piston reciprocable in said pumpchamber and a plunger stem projecting coaxially from the chamber throughsaid open end; an annular collar around and in wiping engagement withsaid stem, said collar overlying and abutting axially against said capto confine same between it and said flange, and being formed to define adownwardly opening annular groove for snug reception of both saidextension and said rim, said groove being defined by a radially innerannular wall releasably engaging said extension, and by a radially outerannular wall releasably engaging said rim, said inner annular wall andsaid extension including interengaging resilient snap fastening means,and said outer annular wall and said annular rib also includinginterengaging resilient annular snap fastening means.

2. A dispensing pump as defined in claim 1 in Wl'llCh interengagingresilient snap fastening means are disposed on the radially oppositefaces of said rim and said extension respectively.

3. A dispensing pump for a container comprisi a container cap having anend wall formed with a circular opening therethrough; a hollow pumpbarrel defin1n a pump chamber open at its upper end and having a rad alflange therearound adjacent said end; an ann a Coaxial extension of saidbarrel projecting above said flange and through said opening; a plungercomprising a piston reciprocable in said pump chamber and a plungerstern projecting coaxially from the chamber through said open end; andan annular collar around and in wiping engagement with said stem, saidcap being axially confined bet-ween said collar and flange, said collarhaving an annular depending wall snugly concentrically disposed withinsaid barrel extension, and snap interlocking means on the relativelyadjacent faces of said wall and said extension; in combination with anannular element encircling .and radially confining the said extension toincrease the holding power of said interlocking means by resistingoutward deflection of said extension.

4. A dispensing pump for a container comprising: a container cap havingan end wall formed with a circular opening therethrough and having anaxially upstanding annular rim around said opening; a hollow pump barreldefining a pump chamber open at its upper end and having a radial flangetherearound adjacent said end; an annular coaxial extension of saidbarrel projecting above said flange and being received coaxially Withinsaid rim; a plunger comprising a piston reciprocable in said pumpchamber and a plunger stem projecting coaxially from the chamber throughsaid open end; an annular collar around and in wiping engagement withsaid stem, said collar overlying and abutting axially against said capto confine same between it and said flange, and being formed to define adownwardly opening annular groove for snug reception of both saidextension and said rim; said cap and said rim being formed of a.flexible and stretchable material, and both said collar and saidextension being of a comparatively more rigid construction than the rim,and concentrically disposed on opposite radial sides of and inengagement with the rim to resist radial distortion thereof; said groovein the collar being defined by radially inner and outer axiallydepending walls of the collar in concentric radially spaced relation;and further including an auxiliary annular axial extension of saidbarrel disposed concentrically within and engaging said inner dependingwall to reinforce same against radial inward deflection.

5. A dispensing pump for a container comprising: a container cap havingan end wall formed with a circular opening therethrough; a hollow pumpbarrel defining a pump chamber open at its upper end and having a radialflange therearound adjacent said end; an annular coaxial extension ofsaid barrel projecting above said flange and through said opening; aplunger comprising a piston reciprocable in said pump chamber and aplunger stem projecting coaxially from the chamber through said openend; and an annular collar around and in wiping engagement with saidstem, said cap being axially confined between said collar and flange,said collar having an annular depending Wall snugly concentricallydisposed Within said barrel extension; and snap interlocking means onthe relatively adjacent faces of said well and said extension.

Bachellcr Nov. 3, 1953 Scoggin Jan. 27, 1959

1. A DISPENSING PUMP FOR A CONTAINER COMPRISING: A CONTAINER CAP HAVINGAN END WALL FORMED WITH A CIRCULAR OPENING THERETHROUGH AND HAVING ANAXIALLY UPSTANDING ANNULAR RIM AROUND SAID OPENING; A HOLLOW PUMP BARRELDEFINING A PUMP CHAMBER OPEN AT ITS UPPER END AND HAVING A RADIAL FLANGETHEREAROUND ADJACENT SAID END; AND ANNULAR COAXIAL EXTENSION OF SAIDBARREL PROJECTING ABOVE SAID FLANGE AND BEING RECEIVED COAXIALLY WITHINSAID RIM; A PLUNGER COMPRISING A PISTON RECIPROCABLE IN SAID PUMPCHAMBER AND A PLUNGERSTEM PROJECTING COAXIALLY FROM THE CHAMBER THROUGHSAID OPEN END; AN ANNULAR COLLAR AROUND AND IN WIPING ENGAGEMENT WITHSAID STEM, SAID COLLAR OVERLYING AND ABUTTING AXIALLY AGAINST SAID CAPTO CONFINE SAME BETWEEN IT AND SAID FLANGE, AND BEING FORMED TO DEFINE ADOWNWARDLY OPENING ANNULAR GROOVE FOR SNUG RECEPTION OF BOTH SAIDEXTENSION AND SAID RIM, SAID GROOVE BEING DEFINED BY A RADIALLY INNERANNULAR WALL RELEASABLY ENGAGING SAID EXTENSION, AND BY A RADIALLY OUTERANNULAR WALL RELEASABLY ENGAGING SAID RIM, SAID INNER ANNULAR WALL